Hello All! I'm a student who is tasked with the job of identifying the plants in our school greenhouse. I've run across some that I dont even know where to start. I was hoping someone could help me out, starting with the attached picture. :) Thanks so much to anyone who could offer assistance!!
DGuertin is very likely correct. There has been a great deal of misinformation posted on the net about Philodendron xanadu which is now a described species. The plant was originally introduced as either a hybrid or a chance cross said to be found in Australia. Since it is a member of Philodendron section Meconostigma, neither is likely. You can find postings saying it is a hybrid of Philodendron bipinnatifidum but the spathe produced on this plant is unique. Botanist Tom Croat worked with aroid botanist Simon Mayo of the Royal Botanic Garden Kew in London as well as aroid expert Julius Boos and the plant was described as a species some years ago. With only a very few exceptions, all members of section Meconostigma (the tree Philodendron) are found only in Brazil. If you do a search on this forum using the name Philodendron xanadu you'll find several detailed discussions. I have in my atrium a large section of the actual plant that was used as the type specimen for this species. That plant was a gift from Julius Boos who is one of the three botanical authors. Your plant appears to be still immature since the leaves will grow a fair amount larger and will become even more pinnatified. However, it does not grow nearly as large as Philodendron bipinnatifidum
Hey Steve, I believe it was "discovered" in a nursery near Perth, Aus, but is not "native" to Australia. Would that be an accurate statment? Ed
Yes, it would. The story has changed several times and some of the website versions have since been taken down. A Los Angeles newspaper once reported it was found wild in Australia. I'm unsure who created some of the stories but it was apparently not the original growers, the Waterbornes. Some of the versions claimed it was "found" in the rain forests of Australia. You can still find that on the website of one North American seller. Another story was the seed was found in a bag of seeds of P. bipinnatifidum. And still another was it was a hybrid of Philodendron bipinnatifidum. The botanists who worked on the plant have ruled out the possibility of a hybrid but some still believe it may be a sport of P. bipinnatifidum. I have no opinion and simply reported on my website information based on the scientific description. One of the plant's author's edited my page. Regardless, it is a neat plant and can grow quite large. However, almost all specimens available for sale in the United States are tissue cultured specimens. There is now some suspicion the actual plant has been found in Brazil.
Promise, I know two people who are trying to solve this mystery! The last I heard the actual plant is much larger and that is likely due to tissue culture. If given too much of the TC chemical the growth of the plant can be easily stunted. Hopefully at the IAS show in September there will be more information available.
Thank you for your help everyone! I'll be starting a new threat today or later this week for some other plants if you want to help again! :D Thanks again!
